Palestinian Territory, Occupied

Ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's historic visit to Australia, West Bank residents label settlements as either the reclamation of historically Jewish land or the main impediment to peace and security.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten wants the building of Jewish settlements in the West Bank to stop, and he's vowed to make that clear to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he visits Australia this week.

While most nations have been enthusiastic supporters of the "two-state solution", the two peoples with the most at stake simply cannot negotiate their way clear to make it happen, writes chief foreign correspondent Philip Williams.

President Donald Trump has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to curb settlement activity, but avoided any explicit endorsement of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a longstanding bedrock of US Middle East policy.

Israel's parliament passes a law allowing about 4,000 settler homes to remain on privately owned Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, but the measure could be struck down by the Supreme Court contravenes rulings on property rights.

Since Donald Trump's inauguration Israel has vowed to build 6,000 new settlement homes in the occupied West Bank, a move which has excited some Israelis but left Palestinians fearing further restrictions on their daily lives.